The Continued Story of Pursey and Friends...

Most people can skip right over this post. But for our family...this is a big deal.

Pursey.

I have mentioned her before... here. But she is kind of a big deal. A little more background on Pursey..she is a beanie baby that comes from Cory's Aunt Terri, who was a pretty special person to everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. Well, she collected the bears. She passed away before Cory and I were even married but Cory's mom gave Ellie this pink bear from Terri's collection. It was love at first sight. 

When we moved we misplaced  Pursey went on a little vacation and was nowhere to be seen. Enter Pursey 2. Another bear from Terri's collection. She is purple. And still loved very much by Ellie...but Jase started to realize how awesome Pursey was too...and did his best to hold on to "ee" as often as he could. So we found a blue bear (ok stay with us here...) which Ellie named David and we all hoped that Jase would love him and Ellie could have Pursey back.

Nope. Jase still tried to steal Pursey constantly. It was a source of some contention in our family for quite a while.

But then on Ellie's birthday the real Pursey (actually the same pink bear from Amazon) came home...and all was well in the world.

 

 

So purple Pursey got renamed Ella, Pursey rejoined the family and Jase and Ellie can both love on these special bears. David is in our toy box somewhere.

Phew. That's a lot to take in.

 

One more thing about Pursey. The Pursey Parable.

Pursey really teaches us the power of love. Not only is she an important part of our immediate family but most of our extended family knows all about Pursey too. All of Ellie's cousins treat Pursey more like a person than a stuffed animal and are honored when they get to hold her or take her to their house for a sleepover. And on more than one occasion have multiple adults discussed Pursey by name. All because a little girl adores a pink bear.

 

"Once a bear has been loved by a human being, its expression is forever marked."
-Jama Kim Rattigan

 

Pursey has certainly made her mark in our family.

But We Clean Up Nicely...

 

After all the dirt from the last post I thought we should post a picture of us looking a little less shabby.  Pretty cute kids!

(Ellie HATES having her bangs pulled back. She just want to wear her hair "plain down." When I try to persuade her otherwise she quickly points out that I get to wear my hair "plain down." Touché.  So we will just wait as patiently as possible while those bangs grow out!)

Three to One: Thoughts on Sharing a Room...

I try to be intentional with how I "mother." And so sometimes I do things and then wonder what I was thinking when I decided upon doing those things...follow?

Well, one of the cons when we were considering buying the Riverhouse was that there were only 2 bedrooms upstairs. This seemed like it was going to be a problem since we had 2 kids and knew we wanted to stay in this house for at least one more baby. (Yes...that is implying that we want lots of babies!!! Or at least a couple more:)

My kids didn't seem like they were old enough to go downstairs by themselves yet so putting the older ones down and keeping the baby up was not an option. Our kids aren't really the best sleepers and running down the stairs a couple times each night didn't sound too peachy to me.

Now- back to being intentional- we decided that sharing a room didn't have to be a con since it fit into one of our deliberate parenting theories...

Walker Family Parenting Theory #278 (or something):

If your children share a room, they are more likely to develop strong relationships with each other and less likely to be secretive.

Whether or not this theory is accurate is still up in the air but we decided it was worth a shot.

 

 

So here we are, three kids in one room. The room is pretty big so that makes it easier but we still had to get creative. Bunk beds for the older two and Jase sleeps in the closet...there were 2 and we converted one into a sort of "Dutch Cupboard Bed" thingy. It's kinda cute. And with an official name it doesn't sound quite as weird...right?

 

 

There are definitely some pluses to having them share- often times I have already been in the room attending to the needs of one child when another one will wake up needing something else...it is so much more convenient to be right there:)

They do wake each other up...mostly the boys. Which makes for earlier mornings...which I am not entirely over the moon about but it is quite cute to hear them talk to each other in the mornings.

And I think that after time it makes them more sound sleepers- they get used to each other making noises and learn to sleep through it. That is a plus for sure.

 

 

Probably the best part about sharing a room though is that after we have read scriptures and said prayers, I get to sit in the room with all of my children as they fall asleep. Every night. And even on those long days when bedtime couldn't come soon enough, I am so grateful to be the mom to these three perfectly amazing children. And as I hear their heavy breathing and occasionally rock one of them to sleep, I thank Heavenly Father that he has entrusted me with such a noble calling.

 

Feel the Love...

Things can get pretty crazy at our house...three kids under the age of 4....but oh boy- we sure do have some sweet moments around here! Jase is such a sweet boy and even though he is only 5 months- he adores his brother and sister.  The other night we had just finished reading scriptures and Jase started to let everyone know just how he felt about them...with big slobbery kisses!

 

All we had to do was point him in the right direction and he would reach out his hands, grab our face and then go to town. Everyone was laughing and reveling the sweetness of the moment!

Cookie Cutters...

You know those family's that every single one of their kids look the same...

I think that is us.

 

 

Ellie: Top Right

Brig: Bottom Right

Jase: Left

Three Perfect Littles...

I absolutely love these three and all of their perfect cuteness!!!!

 

A Perfect Pair...

 

Love...

 

These two are playing together more and more each day.  They are quickly becoming best friends.  They fight. They certainly have those moments.  But I love that they love each other. 

 

My mom always told me that friends come and go but your siblings will be your best friends. That is a little gem that I will be passing right on to my kids.

Brotherly Love...

President David O. McKay said:

 “True happiness comes only by making others happy. … The [spirit of] Christmas … makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service. It is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

 

This year when I asked Brig what he wanted to give his sister for Christmas, he quickly responded- "A Playhouse."

Well, OK!

So, out of a cardboard box we are making a playhouse. Complete with carpet, doorknobs, "fake glass" windows and a picture frame inside.

 

He has worked so hard on this playhouse for his sister. He is far more excited about giving her this big suprise than he is about any other part of Christmas. Anyone he talks to will most likely get an overview of her playhouse. When Ellie goes down for a nap- it is the first thing that he asks for...actually he is asking if she needs to take a nap from the moment she wakes up so he can work on it.

That makes me happy. Because I think that true happiness does only come from making others happy. And I want my kids to know that and live that.

 

So here is to a Christmas filled with true happiness and brotherly love...

 



 

Still Here...

I have much to post about....like our new house that we love! But...things seem to be a bit swamped lately. So they are coming...until then- here are our 2 cuties. If Brig is doing something...you better believe that Ellie thinks she sure needs to be doing it as well. Hence, the hats:)

 

 

When We're Helping, We're Happy...

 

Apparently, the Primary song had it right! Because even though we have had a day full of sibling squabbles- they pulled together for a super sweet little moment of helping each other. Brig had been doing some "modern art" and had about 20 cans of beans all over the kitchen floor and when I asked him to clean it up...Ellie jumped right in too! She would hand him the can and he would put it away. They did all the cans and didn't complain once. Melt me:)

 

Falling For You...

The other day the kids and I went to help with a service project that the Young Men in our church were doing. Picking apples for the food bank!

 I have the opportunity to help the Young Men prepare for a performance in the Youth Celebration in honor of the Boise, Idaho Temple Rededication. They get to perform for the prophet and it is going to be such an awesome experience! Their dance is based on service so we thought it would be good to get off the dance floor and do some real service- they picked 2700 lbs of apples! That is going to make a whole lotta applesauce:)

I digress.

 

 

Look at these two cuties who helped pick a few apples but mostly just looked adorable!

I do hope we can help them learn how importance service is and how it actually blesses you just as much or more as the beneficiary!

 

It is an absolutely beautiful time with year...and personally, I think I have some absolutely beautiful children.

LOVE IT!

 

Presh...

You know those moments that are just to sweet to forget...

these were a couple of those.

All-American...

The other day as we rushed walked reverently into church, a man who kindly held the door open for us said..."Now there's an All-American family if I ever saw one."

We were not really sure exactly what he meant by it...but it was sweet of him.

All I know is that nothing is sweeter than these 2 kiddos hhappily playing together...except for maybe Costco's All American Chocolate Cake...

 

 

 

 

 

Ok...these two "take the cake" everytime:)